The mridangam is a percussion instrument of ancient origin. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble, and in Dhrupad, where a modified version, pakhawaj is the primary percussion instrument. A related instrument is the Kendang, played in Maritime Southeast Asia.
Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, popularly known as Ariyakudi, was a Carnatic music vocalist, born in Ariyakudi, a town in the present-day Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu. Ariyakudi developed a unique style of singing which came to be known as The Ariyakudi Tradition and is followed by his students. He is credited with establishing the modern katcheri (concert) traditions in Carnatic music.
Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar a.k.a. Vaidyanatha Iyer was a Carnatic music singer from Palakkad. Known by his village name Chembai, or simply as Bhagavatar, he was born to Anantha Bhagavatar and Parvati Ammal in 1896, into a Tamil Brahmin family in Perakkool Madom, adjacent to Lokanarkavu near Vatakara on Janmashtami day. He lived here until he was five years old. The family later shifted to Palakkad. Chembai was noted for his powerful voice and majestic style of singing. His first public performance was in 1904, when he was nine. A recipient of several titles and honours, he was known for his encouragement of upcoming musicians and ability to spot new talent. He was responsible for popularising compositions like Rakshamam Saranagatam and Pavana Guru, among others. The music critic 'Aeolus' described him as "the musician who has meant the most to Carnatic Music in the first fifty years of the 20th century." His prominent disciples include Chembai Narayana Bhagavathar, Mangu Thampuran, Guruvayur Ponnammal, T. V. Gopalakrishnan, V. V. Subramaniam, P. Leela, K. G. Jayan, K. G. Vijayan, K. J. Yesudas, Kudumaru Venkataraman and Babu Parameswaran, among others. He also mentored many young accompanists, including Palghat Mani Iyer, Lalgudi Jayaraman, M. S. Gopalakrishnan, T. N. Krishnan, Palani Subramaniam Pillai and L. Subramaniam. Memorial music festivals have been held in his honour annually since his death in 1974, the most important being the annually celebrated Chembai Sangeetholsavam.
Palghat Kollengode Viswanathan Narayanaswamy, often referred to as K. V. Narayanaswamy was an Indian musician, widely considered to be among the finest Carnatic music vocalists of the 20th century. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1986. He was described as the "Perfect Knight" of Carnatic music, a phrase from Geoffrey Chaucer, by V. K. Narayana Menon, art critic of India and recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship.
Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram, also known as Vikku Vinayakram, is an Indian percussionist. He is also known as the God of ghatam. He plays Carnatic music with the ghatam, an earthen pot, and is credited with popularising the ghatam.
Pazhani Subramania Pillai (1909–1962) was a well known Carnatic music percussionist. He, along with his contemporaries Palghat Mani Iyer and Ramanathapuram C. S. Murugabhoopathy, are revered as the "Holy Trinity of Mridanga". He was adept in playing the mridangam and kanjira. He was the sishya (disciple) of the celebrated Palani Muthaiah Pillai.
Palghat T. S. Mani Iyer (1912–1981), born Thiruvilvamalai Ramaswamy was one of the leading mridangists in the field of Carnatic music. He, along with his contemporaries Palani Subramaniam Pillai and Ramanathapuram C. S. Murugabhoopathy, are revered as the "Holy Trinity of Mrudangam". Mani Iyer was the first mridangist to be awarded the Sangeetha Kalanidhi (1966) presented by the Music Academy of Madras ,the Padma Bhushan (1971) and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards(1956) presented by the Government of India.
This is a listing of the commercially published recordings of Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar (1895-1974).
Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar was one of the finest Carnatic music vocalists of the 20th century. This is a list of concerts and events that helped shape his career as a popular Carnatic musician.
Thanu Krishna Murthy, better known as T. K. Murthy, is an Indian mridangam player. A Padma Shri and Sangeetha Kalanidhi awardee.
Mavelikkara Krishnankutty Nair was a Carnatic Mridangam player. He received his training from Alleppey Venkappan Pillai and Veechur Krishna Iyer. He considered Palani Subramaniam Pillai as his 'Manasa Guru'. He received the Padma Shri from the President of India and was also the recipient of the Kerala Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. Krishnankutty Nair was also an artiste for All India Radio in Trivandrum.
Mavelikkara Velukutty Nair was an Indian mridangam player.
Ramanathapuram C. S. Murugabhoopathy, popularly referred to as CSM, was one of the most distinguished Mridanga maestros of the 20th century. He was a contemporary of Palghat Mani Iyer (1912–1981) and Palani Subramania Pillai (1908–1962). The three legends are revered as the "Holy Trinity of Mridanga".
E. M. Subramaniam was an Indian Carnatic classical percussionist. Subramaniam was instructed in ghatam under the tutelage of his father. He has accompanied master percussionists including mridangam players such as Palghat Mani Iyer, Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, and T. K. Murthy, and tabla players such as Alla Rakha Khan, Kishan Maharaj, and Zakir Hussain. He has been a grade A ghatam artist of All India Radio for the past 40 years. Subramaniam was awarded the title of "Kalaimamani" in 2000 and recognized with a Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in ghatam in 2011. His style of playing is compact with great tonal quality. E.M. Subramaniam has worked as a professor in Tamil Nadu Government music college (Adyar). He died on 23 April 2015.
Vellore G. Ramabhadran was a Mridangam artiste from Tamil Nadu, India. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2004.
T. M. Thyagarajan was a Carnatic vocalist and musicologist from Tamil Nadu in Southern India. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1981.
Valayapatti A. R. Subramaniam is an Indian classical musician and percussionist, considered by many as one of the foremost prominent exponents of Thavil also known as Dolu, a traditional percussion instrument in Carnatk music, accompanying windpipe instruments such as nadaswaram, saxophone, clarinet, etc, and string instruments like violin, mandolin, etc. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2009. He is a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2007, for his contributions to Music.
Parassala B. Ponnammal was an Indian Carnatic musician from the south Indian state of Kerala. She was a classical carnatic vocalist in the lineage of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Muthiah Bhagavathar, and Papanasam Sivan. She was the first woman to perform at the Navaratri Mandapam in Thiruvananthapuram as a part of the Navaratri Celebrations of the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala.
Nidumolu Sumathi, also known as Dandamudi Sumathi is an Indian percussionist, primarily playing the mridangam. She is married to "Mridangam Maestro" Sri Dandamudi Ram Mohan Rao. She is one of the first female mridangam players in India, and the first female Laya Vinyasam artist. Sumathi received India's fourth-highest civilian award, Padma Shri, in 2021.
